


The Only Exception

by WhenBirdsFly



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fake AH Crew, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Multi, Slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 04:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7253092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenBirdsFly/pseuds/WhenBirdsFly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meg has never believed in love, all people want in this world is to use you and throw you away.</p><p>Written for the Mavinseg Event 2K16.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Only Exception

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy! I'm also terribly sorry if you speak Russian, I took everything from Google Translate

Meg woke in a cold sweat for the second time that night. The dreams were too much and it was obvious she was going to get no further sleep. Her alarm clock burned 5:00 into her eyes; she’d had more sleep than normal which would come in handy for the day she had planned.

Dragging herself out of bed and into her tiny shower, she contemplated what look she should aim for today. She needed to infiltrate a high society function to gain information for an up and coming crew, who had promised to pay her incredibly well if she got what they desired. Given the event would include several high profile members of Los Santos, it was probably best to go for a look that was simple, but also screamed wealthy, however not wealthy enough for anyone to take too much notice of. Turning the water off, she settled with a classic look; blonde hair, red dress, dazzling accessories. There was no point in having breakfast because she hardly ate anyways so she made her way straight to her dresser.

Meg had learnt over the years, through a childhood of constantly being moved from foster house to foster house that she was quite skilled in adapting to her surroundings. She felt almost like a chameleon in the way that she could change herself to suit what the people around her wanted. As she got older she adapted this into her looks as well, slowly acquiring a large collection of disguises perfect for the life of crime she led.

Her childhood had been pretty fucked up; she didn’t like to talk about it, which was easy because she had no one to talk to. The same experiences that taught her to disguise herself also taught her a large collection of skills every good criminal required. Most importantly was the fact that she knew no one could be trusted. For Meg, there was no such thing as love, or friendship. Only people who you temporarily worked with then never saw again. The tough fact about the world is that no one actually cares for anyone besides themselves, once you learnt that, the world became a lot easier to live in. Meg’s motto was and had been since she was a little girl fighting for survival: Trust No One, Use Everyone.

As Meg stared into the mirror, the sound of a child screaming echoing in her ears from the dreams that still haunted her, she looked into her eyes, now a sharp blue, and did not recognise a single thing about the person who gazed back. Perfect, this job would be easy.

\-------

Gavin groaned as he adjusted his tie to just the right amount of dishevelled. He was pretentious, he knew, but being part of the biggest crew in Los Santos meant keeping up appearances. Everyone knew of that Fake AH’s Golden Boy and the looks he upheld. Unfortunately, this was the reason he was attending brunch with a bunch of snobby, rich wankers. He’d been sent to represent the crew, mostly because he was the one with the best social skills, albeit all fake politeness. Normally he didn’t mind too much because he’d have either Michael or Lindsay accompanying him as his date but they’d both been sent on an out of town job. So of course, on top of being stuck alone at this function, he knew he would spend the whole time in a miserable mood worrying about his partners.

Getting out of his car, he sent a quick text to Ryan confirming he was here before heading inside to mingle. There was always an interesting mix of people at these functions, Government Officials, Drug Lords and the filthy rich all gathered together, basically just to talk about how rich they were. It made Gavin feel sick, thinking about all these people flashing their riches around but doing nothing to help fix the problems that were overrunning the town. No doubt these same people would walk past the homeless children on the street without sparing a glance, Gavin remembered these people well from when he was a teen. Still, there was no point raising that issue now, these events were already tense enough as it was, with everyone all gathered in the same place, Gavin spent the whole time walking on eggshells.

After he had successfully mingled with nearly everyone, he found an empty table and sat down to relax. The only good thing about these functions was the food and the fact that it never seemed to end. As he sat there filling his face, sending snaps to the rest of the crew and checking in with his partners to make sure they were still alive, a lady sat down next to him.

“Don’t tell anyone but I’ve got plastic bags in my handbag to take some of the food home with me.” She whispered to him as if revealing a great secret. 

He laughed and examined her subtly; she had long blonde hair and was well dressed. Obviously she was quite wealthy and she looked vaguely familiar but he could not say for sure if he had seen her before. He was fairly convinced he hadn’t because he had enough faith in himself that had he met someone as beautiful as her, he would’ve remembered.

“I don’t understand why handbags aren’t more popular for men; they would make stealing so much easier.” He responded with ease.

She grinned at him and extended her hand “Elizabeth”.

“Gavin.”

A look of brief recognition crossed her face before she smiled again. “This party is a bit boring isn’t it? It’s just a bunch of people boasting about how rich they are.”

Gavin was relieved to have found someone who also wasn’t having a great time. He was however slightly wary, because this Elizabeth was being very welcoming and as he was someone who had been trained to fit in to situations, he knew it was highly likely she could be playing him. “It’s more enjoyable when you have company because it at least gives you someone down to earth to talk to.”

She nodded and looked around, “You’re here alone?” she asked, as if she expected him to be accompanied, meaning she obviously knew who he was. This really wasn’t that surprising considering he was part of the most influential crew in Los Santos. “Where are your partners?”

“They’re out of town.” Gavin didn’t want to give too much away; he didn’t know this lady’s motives and anything he said without thinking could jeopardize the crew. 

As she opened her mouth to speak a large man came and sat between them, obviously heavily intoxicated. 

“Ahhhh, Mr Free, it’s been a long time.” His voice came out slurred and heavily accented.

“Hello Yegor, how is business?” Gavin sat up straighter, reverting to his professional approach. Yegor was a high end drug lord, who was currently on good, but shaky terms with the crew. 

Yegor waved his hand, swaying slightly in his seat, big grin on his face. “Business is business. I see you are here alone, where is your shlyukha and your pedik?” 

Elizabeth had a knife to his throat in an instant, so quick that no one around them noticed. “Sledit' za svoim yazykom nakip'” Yegor looked frightened, looking to Gavin for help.

Gavin held his hand up and quietly spoke “Dostatochno”. Elizabeth moved her knife away and Yegor appeared relieved, but took one look at Gavin’s stony face and left. Gavin sighed; they’d have to renegotiate their deal with the Russian man.

“Thank you, I could have handled that.” Gavin said to Elizabeth as she wiped her knife with her napkin. If the lady was willing to defend his partners, he’d trust her for now.

“Sorry, I just have a zero tolerance policy on hate speak.” She wouldn’t look at him, too focused on the knife.

“I think it might be time to get out of here, I’ve had my fill of snobby pricks anyways.” Gavin got up, offering Elizabeth a hand which she gracefully took and they made their way to the exit, Gavin saying goodbye to people on the way. 

They walked out to Gavin’s car together at a casual pace, unfazed by the light rain that was sprinkling them. “Well, this is me, it was lovely to meet you Elizabeth, perhaps I will see you again at another boring function.”

“Perhaps.” Elizabeth smiled, watching as Gavin got into his car, “Oh wait! Your phone, I forgot I picked it up off the table for you, don’t forget it!”

Gavin thanked her as he took his phone and chucked it into the seat next to him, waving one last goodbye before speeding off.

\-------

Meg was pissed. Sure she’d got the information that she needed but she’d revealed too much of herself and lost control.

It was perfect that Gavin Free of the famed Fake AH Crew was there alone; it made her job so much easier. All she had to do was sit down and chat to the man until there was a distraction. The distraction also came quite quickly and she was able to grab Gavin’s phone from the table and attach her electronic but to it, letting it extract all the unencrypted information on his phone. All she needed then was a few good minutes and she’d have all she needed to get her money. 

That was all well and good until she’d lost her cool. The Russian man, Yegor had reminded her of one of her earlier foster parents, who would beat her and the other children, as well as their foster mother. That foster mother was the reason she knew the small amount of Russian she did. All she could see when he mocked Gavin was this big surly man standing over a frightened five year old and she had just snapped. 

Then to make matters worse, she had revealed her weakness to Gavin. She didn’t know why but she had given him extra information, she could’ve just apologised but she felt she wanted to give him a reason. She wanted him to know more about her. Was it the calm way he spoke, or just the light that seemed constantly present in his eyes? Whatever it was, it scared her. The whole ordeal had made her uncomfortable and she prayed that Gavin hadn’t noticed her shaking hands when the event was over.

It didn’t matter. She had got her information and had given Gavin back his phone without him getting suspicious. This boy was not important to her, she had manipulated him for information and no doubt he had somehow manipulated her as well. That was the end of it.

\-------

The bank line had not moved in over ten minutes and Lindsay was losing her patience. There were roughly fourteen people ahead of her and she had more planned for today than waiting in line at the bank. As Geoff’s right hand lady and the second person in charge of the FAHC, she considered herself somewhat important, sure she wasn’t a celebrity but surely there was a way to move her up in the line. Really, Ryan should be here waiting, but the last time Ryan came to the bank he managed to threaten four different people in the span of two minutes, while simple trying to deposit some money. Until they found someone who could be reliable it was Lindsay’s job.

Lindsay figured that if she was dressed well, like the head of a crew instead of in jeans and a hoodie, maybe someone would recognise her and give her special privileges. However the whole point of the jeans and the hoodie was so she could remain incognito. She pulled out her phone, texting her boys in an attempt to keep herself occupied but quickly gave up on that when they just kept sending her pictures of themselves together, making her feel left out. Her mind wandered to the security breach that had occurred about a week ago, information on a heist that was supposed to be secret had somehow gotten out. Gavin had checked everyone’s devices but the only one that looked suspicious was his phone and he couldn’t remember anyone else touching it long enough to hack it.

The lady behind Lindsay in line sighed and she offered the lady a commiserating smile. The lady looked well put together, her red hair tied into a professional topknot, matching well with the business suit she was wearing. Despite the obvious business look, there was still a striking beauty about her. Obviously this lady had planned to duck into the bank quickly in her lunch break and had not planned for the line to be so long. Just as Lindsay was about to try and strike a conversation to pass the time, a scream rang out and she was on full alert.

A masked man stood at the doors to the street, holding a gun which he fired towards the ceiling, drawing everyone’s attention. “Everyone down on the ground!” he yelled aiming his gun wildly at people. Lindsay rolled her eyes but did as he said, looking to the lady next to her to see if she would need calming down. To Lindsay’s surprise she looked almost as annoyed as Lindsay felt, but that expression changed to one of fear when she noticed Lindsay looking at her. Lindsay thought that was odd.

This man was obviously new to town; everyone knew this was the only bank that would turn a blind eye to criminals, so obviously you don’t shoot up the place where you store your own money. Also, this bank was right in the centre of Fake AH territory and Lindsay had no doubt that the people the crew had positioned around the city were already aware of the robbery and the Crew were preparing to deal with it. Lindsay’s only concern was that of the civilians in here, because if this guy was new, he wouldn’t know that there were strict rules in force by the FAHC on getting civilians involved. 

The man moved towards the counters, demanding whatever money there was to be placed in a bag he threw over. In doing so, he left his back to the civilians in the bank, giving Lindsay all she needed to check on everyone. After doing a quick survey she took note that there were no children in the building and while everyone looked afraid, no one looked like they were about to make a run for it and risk their life. Satisfied she turned to the business lady and whispered “Well, I can imagine this is certainly and interesting lunch break for you.” The lady looked shocked that Lindsay had spoken, but upon staring at her for a few moments, relaxed and offered a small smile. “Are you okay?” Lindsay continued, keeping her voice low. 

The lady rolled her eyes and whispered back, “We’re in the middle of an armed robbery, I think I’m as okay as I can be.” Lindsay grinned at the lady. “I’m Lindsay by the way, in case we die in here and you want to speak of my heroics.”

The lady didn’t seem impressed by that and reluctantly gave her name over. “I’m Lara and I really hope we won’t die in here.”

The two sat in silence as they watched the armed man, his movements were becoming more frantic and Lindsay knew that she would probably have to act soon. She silently shifted her gun out of its holster and sat waiting for the right moment. 

The right moment, it turned out, was when the armed man turned his gun on a civilian who was shaking next to him and began screaming in her face. Lindsay had had enough; this guy was being ridiculous and unprofessional. She stood swiftly and watched as her bullet went through his skull, his body dropping to the ground like a sack of bricks.

“Is everyone alright?” She called out to the stunned civilians who all slowly nodded their heads. One person began to cry and Lindsay looked at them in sympathy. “If anyone is in need of medical assistance, ambulances should be here soon. Everyone else I suggest you clear out, the bank probably isn’t going to take your money right at this moment.” She clapped her hands, causing a few people to spring to action.

“Are you a cop?” A voice called out from the crowd.

Lindsay laughed, “No, definitely not a cop, I actually get stuff done.”  
“Then who are you?” another voice called out.

Before Lindsay could answer, Lara called out from next to her. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s Lindsay Tuggey.”

Lindsay took that as her chance to leave, before any more questions could be asked. The bank would have to wait for another day.

\-------

It had been over a week and the money Meg was owed for her information job still hadn’t been transferred to her account and she was not happy. One of the downsides to working alone was that while she had a lot of money, it was only enough to live on and further her career. She was depending on this payment to afford her rent for the next three months. The life of a criminal wasn’t as glamourous as everyone believed and sometimes to get the money you were owed you had to get dirty.

Dressed in a professional business look, her hair red today, Meg made her way to the building she knew currently housed the crew who had hired her. As she made her way up in the elevator to the correct floor, she contemplated what they had used her information for. It was obviously pretty serious if they were trying to infiltrate the highest ranking crew in Los Santos, certainly serious for the amount of money she was offered. But maybe they didn’t actually have the money, maybe it was all talk. She stepped out of the elevator and made her way to the lady sitting at the reception.

“Hi, I was wondering if I could see Mr Alan, we were meant to meet for lunch but something has come up so I thought I would just pop in and explain.” Meg smiled a sickly sweet smile at the receptionist, forming her face to look as innocent as possible.

“I’m not sure if I should let you in if you don’t have an appointment.” The receptionist hesitated; she didn’t want to get on the wrong side of her boss. Meg could work with that.

“Well, I mean it’s up to you if you let me in or not but I really wouldn’t want to upset Mr Alan. He’s not a very patient man and he’ll be very… disappointed that you didn’t let me in to see him. He does very much enjoy my company.” 

The receptionist hesitating again before nodding, “Sorry, I’m new, I’m not really sure what’s going on, let me just message him that you’re here.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, I’ve already texted him. Thanks darling, let’s hope you last longer than the last receptionist, God rest her soul.” Meg smirked, stalking towards the office at the end of the hall, not waiting to see the look of horror on the young girls face.

As Meg entered the room, Alan had his back to her, talking heatedly on the phone in what sounded like Swedish, which Meg unfortunately did not know. She moved silently towards him, positioning herself in the best stance for both attacking and defending, before she pressed the button on his phone to hang it up.

Alan swung around to investigate what had happened and was immediately restrained by Meg, who held a knife to his neck. “I’d be careful if I were you, I just sharpened her today.” 

“What do you want?” Alan questioned, furious.

“I want my money Mr Alan. You give me my money and I leave you alone. You’re obviously new around here, but people don’t take too kindly to being ripped off.” Meg purred into his ear, clearly intimidating him as he shrunk back. She pressed the knife a fraction harder onto his neck, drawing a drop of blood.

“Okay, okay, we’ll give you your money just let me go.” 

Meg smirked. “All the information is on the paper on your desk. You have an hour to transfer it. I’ll be checking.” By the time Alan could comprehend what had happened she was gone.

Pleased with herself, she hopped onto the nearest train to get to the bank, wanting to give the new crew the full hour, just to be fair. Her day was going surprisingly well, so she wasn’t shocked when it was suddenly ruined by the attempted armed robber.

The lady in front of her in the line, Lindsay, Meg had immediately picked as a possible threat. She carried herself like a trained professional, even though she was in casual clothing. Upon further examination and the lady introducing herself, she quickly figured out that she was talking to none other than Lindsay Tuggey, second in charge of the Fake AH Crew. She contemplated what her odds were, having now met two of the three members of the infamous FAHC relationship. 

Lindsay appeared to be quite friendly, checking every civilian was okay before taking out the armed robber. Even when the man was dead she still stayed to show kindness to those left behind. Meg was suspicious of this. No one was that kind, there was obviously something she was after and she was using her kindness to get it. This put her on edge. Maybe Lindsay was aware of who she was, even though she had given a different name. There was no doubt Gavin would have noticed the hack that occurred on his phone, so what if Lindsay was out to protect her boyfriend. The only thing she could do was protect herself, so she did the first thing she could think of. She outed Lindsay and then ran.

Later that night as she lay on her bed, wide awake, comparing Lindsay’s actions to those of her past horrors, she didn’t understand. Lindsay was either phenomenal at faking kindness, or she was actually genuinely concerned for everyone’s well-being

\-------

It wasn’t fair. Lindsay and Gavin got to go on holiday early and Michael was stuck on one last job with Ryan. It wasn’t even a hard job; all they had to do was take out a local group of thugs who had been assaulting women for the past few weeks. It had taken the crew a while to track them down, mostly because they had overestimated the intelligence of the thugs and had tried too hard to outthink them. The whole organisation, if you could even call it that, was run out of an abandoned factory down by the docks.

Ryan and Michael weren’t going for stealth; they burst into the factory in a midst of explosions Michael had planted, for massive noise and distraction but minimal structural damage. Ryan cleared the upstairs while Michael took the downstairs, searching out any of the lowlifes still hiding in the building. Turning a corner Michael was startled by a short lady. His immediate reaction was to check if she was okay, assuming she was a victim of the thugs. However the perfectly styled short brown hair, stylish clothing and gun in her hand indicated she was here by her own will. When he realised that, he pulled his gun on her, knowing she could possibly be working with the men he had come here to stop. She looked at his gun and rolled her eyes.

“Look sweetheart, I’m here for the same reason as you, to kill this pack of dogs.” She gestured with her gun for Michael to follow her. “I heard noises coming from down here; I think they might have some people locked up.

Hearing that, Michael moved faster, hoping to get to any possible prisoners out pronto. He stopped at the locked door the lady had taken him to, before stepping back and kicking it open, revealing a stairwell leading down that hadn’t been on the building plans he and Ryan had scoped out this morning. Quickly, they both rushed down the stairs and into a dark room.

Inside the room were several cells, each containing two women. The women cowered as they got closer but Michael held up his hands. “We’ve come to save you” he spoke, “My name is Michael and this is…” gesturing to the lady who was with him, she answered without hesitation. “My name is Felicity. Let us get you out of here.”

Michael and Felicity quickly freed all the ladies and ushered them upstairs where they found Ryan holding off the last of the thugs. 

“Ry, take these ladies to safety, we’ll handle this.” Michael called, watching Ryan nod and escort the ladies out before jumping behind cover next to Felicity.

“How come you didn’t just leave your partner here and take the ladies yourself?” Felicity questioned as she shot blindly at the thugs.

Michael scoffed “Because I know I’ve used less bullets than him and he had a better chance of getting the ladies out.”

“You could’ve just left him alone though, like you could’ve just fled.”

“You clearly don’t know who we are.”

“You’re part of the Fake AH Crew.”

Michael was confused. “Well if you know that then you know that I would never leave one of my crew behind.”

“Yes,” Felicity responded, “but what I can’t understand is why that is, why is your loyalty so strong? Does your boss have some sort of blackmail over you or something?”

“No blackmail, we choose to stay together.”

Felicity scoffed. There was only one man left and he was just out of shot, which meant he couldn’t hit them but they couldn’t hit him.

As Michael moved himself into a better position he looked at Felicity again, “Besides, I couldn’t leave by myself, then I would’ve just left you to these goons.” Smirking, he took his final shot and hit the last remaining man in between the eyes.

“I can handle myself you know.”

“I don’t doubt that, I just figured I’d try to help you not get shot.”

“Why would I matter to you though?”

Michael shook his head but looked like he understood. “Everyone matters; you just have to find the right people.” 

Felicity looked shocked, almost like she was at a loss for words, before nodding curtly and heading towards the exit.

Michael followed her but by the time he was out she had already disappeared, leaving him to wonder about the gorgeous, mysterious lady.

\-------

Meg had done it again. She’d let someone get into her head. This time it was the third member of the infamous FAHC realationship. She’d already met the other two so what was her luck that she’d just have to meet the third. 

She wasn’t sure what it was about the three of them but they made her feel safe and she didn’t like it. She didn’t trust it. She had been to curious, asking Michael about his relationship with his crew. 

“Everyone matters; you just have to find the right people.” He had said. For a split second she had believed him. Believed that maybe everything was that simple.

Maybe there was a reason she had met the three of them, felt so connected to them. Maybe there really was a chance that there were people in this world that cared about others.

She was angry she had even considered it. She’d only been there to stop some lowlife crooks, not question her whole philosophy on life. There must be something about those three. Something to prove how fake they were. She didn’t trust them one bit.

\-------

Everything was going to shit. It had been a simple run of the mill heist but somehow the police appeared two steps ahead of them. Gavin was on the ground fighting, something that hadn’t been planned and this put Michael on edge. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen and he couldn’t shake it.

“All clear.” Came a voice in his ear, Jack, indicating that the rest of the crew had made it out. 

“Michael, Gavin and I will take care of the rest of the cops.” Lindsay’s voice responded.

At least with the rest of the crew free all Michael had to worry about were his partners, which ultimately were the most important people to him. 

There were only about a dozen police left, though Michael was sure more were on their way. Everything appeared to be finally going steady when Michael heard a yelp of pain come from behind him.

He turned as if in slow motion to see Gavin stagger back, clutching at his shoulder which was already stained red with his blood. Michael made eye contact with Lindsay for a spilt second, seeing the fire he imagined was also burning in his eyes.

They made short work of the police after that. There was no holding back where their Boi was concerned. Once the police were taken care of they rushed to Gavin who was sitting on the pavement.

“Gavvy, are you okay? Let me see.” Lindsay was gently moving Gavin’s hands away from his shoulder so she could get a better look. 

“Just a graze.” Gavin mumbled, already trying to bury his head into Lindsay’s neck for comfort as she knelt before him. 

“Bit more than a graze buddy, you’ll need Caleb to stitch it up because it took a chunk of your skin with it, but you’ll be fine.” 

“Mmmm.” Gavin mumbled again, clutching at Lindsay who gave a fond sigh, smiling at Michael as they both moved to support the lanky man in between them. 

They worked together to place him into the backseat of their getaway car, each kissing him on the head before getting into the front seat.

From across the street a lady with purple hair watched the scene, a puzzled look clear on her face.

\-------

It had been weeks and Meg could still not get the infamous FAHC group of three out of her head. She had been so convinced they were hiding something, a secret hatred that would be revealed soon enough. She didn’t understand.

Her whole life she had believed that there was no such thing as love or compassion, but seeing the way Michael and Lindsay had reacted to an injured Gavin was incredible. From her position across the street she could see how much they loved each other and how much they would do for each other. Her whole world had been turned on its head.

She’d been stuck in her own head since the last time she had seen them, only leaving her apartment briefly to visit Mr Alan again, accidentally interrupting a business meeting that probably included sensitive information. She didn’t care; she still hadn’t gotten the right amount of money she was owed. 

Glancing at her phone she saw that it was just turning to 3 am. Her insomnia had been increasingly worse lately, her mind trying to work through too many things. This was the fourth night in a row she hadn’t even attempted to go to bed, opting to sit on the couch and mindlessly watch tv. She was slowly starting to close her eyes, curled up on herself when her apartment door swung open. 

Immediately she was on her feet, aiming her gun at the intruder. Or intruders, because staring back at her was none other than the three people who had plagued her mind for weeks. The shock was evident on her face but she quickly concealed it.

“What are you doing here? I have no issues with the Fake AH Crew and as far as I know, you have none with me.” Honestly, it would be just her luck that the people who had managed to make her question whether love was possible would now kill her.

She watched as a look of recognition passed on all three of their faces. She suddenly felt exposed, she had no disguise on and was only in her pajama shorts and a bra, they could see all of her, her true self.

Lindsay was the first to move, raising her hands to show she meant no harm, her boys following her actions. “You look different.” She commented, earning a nod from the boys.

Meg’s face remained hard, if they were here to kill her she would give nothing away.

Lindsay sighed. “Look, we don’t have much time. Our inside sources revealed that a rising crew was planning to take out this entire building in an assassination attempt and given this is our city, filled with our people, we weren’t going to let that happen.”

“What crew?” Meg felt like she already knew the answer.

“We’re not sure on specifics, just that it’s run by a man called Mr Alan that arrived from Sweden a few months ago.” Gavin said from next to Lindsay, keeping his voice calm, obviously not wanting to startle Meg.

“And the rest of my building?” She asked.

“We’ve already evacuated all of them, considering you were the only person in the apartment registered under a fake ID we figured you were their target.” Lindsay explained further.

“There’s a bomb in the basement that’s set to go off in under half an hour. I’ve tried to disarm it but there is no use so I’d get a move on if I were you.” Michael said, wanting to hurry things along.

Meg nodded, before heading swiftly to her bedroom. Her unstable childhood had left her with the habit of never fully settling down, so luckily most of her belongings were packed in easy to transport bags and boxes. They all took what they could; Meg pretended not to notice the look the three of them exchanged when they saw her disguises. Just as they were exiting her apartment Michael’s phone began beeping.

“Shit, that’s the ten minute mark, we gotta get out of here now.” Michael yelled, all four of them moving quickly to get out of the building.

They made it outside with moments to spare, packed Meg’s belongings into Jack’s truck who had been waiting on the road and then ran over to Lindsay’s waiting car. It was somewhat amusing that in between all the chaos Gavin still managed to call shotgun and stick his tongue out at Michael, before they were peeling away from Meg’s building, a few buildings down the road before it exploded.

Meg sat uncomfortably in the back seat, well aware of the not so subtle looks the three other occupants of the car were sharing. The car had no roof, it was a fast sportscar type thing and even though it was summer, Meg could feel herself starting to shake from the wind. She wasn’t expecting Michael to take his jacket off and hand it to her, forcing her to put it on to keep warm.

The drive was silent and felt like it went excruciatingly slow and passes by in a split second at the same time. When they stop, they pull up in front of a fancy looking suburban house, Lindsay puts in the gate code and they drive on inside, pulling into a garage that holds multiple cars but looks very homely. Meg is confused, she thought they would drop her off at a hotel or something, but as they lead her inside and into the kitchen, it is obvious that this is their personal home.

She sits at their kitchen counter while the other three busy themselves in the kitchen, getting each other food and rummaging around but still ultimately remaining quiet, not wanting to be the one to break the silence.

After watching them for a bit she finally speaks, all three of them turning to look at her swamped in Michael’s jacket with a look of confusion and possible awe on her face. “You guys really love each other, don’t you? It’s not an act.”

They exchange a quick look before nodding, but remaining silent to let her continue.

“So it’s true then. You are family? All of you? The whole crew?”

There’s a moment of silence before Gavin steps closer to her, looking her dead in the eye. She feels he can see right through her, see all her hurt and loneliness. “We’re closer than any family I’ve ever had. We stick together, we have each other’s back and most importantly, we love each other.”

Meg nods, not breaking eye contact with Gavin, to show that she understands the strength in what he is saying. There’s another moment of heavy silence before Michael breaks the air.

“But, to be fair, we all love each other in different ways, because hell would freeze over before I made out with Ryan.” Michael smirked, obviously trying to make Meg feel more comfortable.

The three of them laughed and Meg let out a small chuckle, feeling herself become more relaxed.

“So,” Lindsay says, coming forward to lean across the counter towards Meg, “Your name obviously isn’t Lara” – “Or Elizabeth” says Gavin, - “Or Felicity” says Michael, “So what is it?”

Meg laughs, looking and feeling for the first time in a while genuinely happy. “It’s Meg.”

\-------

5 Months Later

“Meg I swear to God if you do not get your lazy ass out of bed I will let Lindsay and Gavin eat all your pancakes.” Michael exclaimed, desperately trying to drag his girlfriend out of bed while she struggled to crawl further under the sheets.

At the mention of her food being taken, she slowly emerged with a pout on her face, before groaning and following Michael out to their kitchen.

Lindsay had the biggest stack of pancakes in front of her, leaving Meg no other option but to sit in her lap, just so Lindsay could not eat them all herself. Lindsay attempted to shove her off but Meg had planted herself firmly and was not budging for anything.

“Aw well if Turney gets to sit in Lindsay’s lap I’ll sit in Gav’s” Michael said, making himself comfortable in Gavin’s lap, bringing his own plate of pancakes closer, while Meg continued to eat off Lindsay’s plate.

As Meg watched her boyfriend’s grumble at each other, Gavin complaining Michael was too heavy and Michael complaining about Gavin’s complaining, she smiled a private smile to herself. She never would’ve imagined that she could be in such a loving relationship. Sure, she still had issues she was working on, some that could be improved in time and some that would just never go away, but she knew that her little family would love her no matter what and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always welcome!
> 
> Feel free to follow me on [tumblr](http://derekhalesbitchface.tumblr.com/) I'm pretty active on there and always willing to talk fics. x


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